Graveside services for Mary Helen Bowers, 73, of College Station were conducted at 11 a.m. Monday, June 10, 2013, at Bono Cemetery near Cleburne, Texas. A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, June 14, 2013, at First Presbyterian Church of Bryan, 1100 Carter Creek Parkway in Bryan. The Rev. Ted V. Foote, Jr. will officiate at both ceremonies. The Rosser Funeral Home in Cleburne is handling all arrangements.

Mrs. Bowers died June 6, 2013, at St. Paul University Hospital in Dallas. She was born Sept. 23, 1939, in Beeville, Texas, to Kathryn (Hickman) and Daniel Monroe Fairly, Sr.

After graduating from A.C. Jones High School in Beeville in 1957, she went to Texas Tech University, where she joined the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. Shortly after she graduated with a B.A. in journalism, she married Dr. David R. Bowers on June 9, 1961 at First Presbyterian Church of Beeville.

They moved to the Bryan-College Station area when he joined the journalism faculty at Texas A&M University in 1964. She began working at Texas A&M in 1973. Over the next 33 years she served as the editor of the university catalog, assistant to the dean of admissions, assistant to the vice president for academic affairs, director of educational information services, deputy director of university relations, and deputy director of special event facilities at Reed Arena. While working full-time, she obtained a M.S. in educational administration from Texas A&M in 1977. The Association of Former Students gave her the Distinguished Achievement Award for staff and administration in 1987. A highlight of her career was being the editor of the university’s successful proposal to President George H.W. Bush for his presidential library and museum.

Mrs. Bowers served for years as one of the university’s representatives to the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). During that time she was elected as the chair of the five-state southwest district of CASE. CASE awarded her the distinguished achievement award for that district.

She was a member of First Presbyterian for 48 years, served much of that time in leadership positions, and was one of its first women elders. In addition, she served on the board of directors of the Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce and the Briarcrest Country Club. She also was a founder of the Zeta Tau Alpha chapter at Texas A&M in 1975 and supported that chapter for years.

Mrs. Bowers was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and one brother, Daniel Monroe Fairly, Jr. She is survived by her sons and their wives: Christopher David Bowers and Veronica Cuadra of Dallas; Daniel Charles Bowers and Shannon of Dallas; and Scott Rynning Bowers and Stephanie of Frisco, Texas. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Brandon, Avery, Kathryn, Julia, Wilson, Connor, and Morgan. Friends and family will remember her as an avid traveler, a gourmet cook, and a generous and devoted "Dama" to her seven grandchildren.